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Volume 28 Number 3 December 2003
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Voluntary Disclosure of Forward-Looking Earnings Information in Australia
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Pamela Kent and Karen Ung
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Abstract
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This study examines the voluntary disclosure of future
earnings information in annual reports for Australian
listed companies. We find that most Australian companies
in our sample do not provide quantitative earnings,
forecasts in their annual reports, although more than
half of the sample do disclose forward-looking information
relating to earnings, without specifically disclosing
point estimates for the future. These companies mostly
supply qualitative information with a positive bias,
while the remainder of the sample discloses no
forward-looking information relating to earnings. Our
findings also suggest that larger companies with less
volatile earnings tend to provide more future earnings
information than smaller companies with relatively
volatile earnings.
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Download this article.
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Keywords
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VOLUNTARY EARNINGS INFORMATION; NATURE; INCENTIVES.
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Contact Details
Pamela Kent
UQ Business School
The University of Queensland
St Lucia QLD 4072
E-mail: kent@business.uq.edu.au
Karen Ung
UQ Business School and KPMG
15 Lake St
Cairns QLD 4870
E-mail: kung@kpmg.com.au
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The helpful comments of the two reviewers and the
editor are gratefully acknowledged, although
responsibility remains with the authors.
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